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I'm studying d'Alembert's equation with scalar field in a homogeneous medium in time and space. In particular the calculation of the Green function, that is the field irradiated by an impulsive source in space and time:

$$ \left(\nabla^2 - \frac{1}{c^2}\frac{\partial^2}{\partial t^2}\right) g(\mathbf{R},\tau)= \delta(\mathbf{R}) \delta(\tau) $$

Obviously, uniqueness also requires the initial conditions on the function and the first derivative.

For the resolution, the book does the space-time Fourier transform of the equation, obtaining: $$ [-K^2 + k^2] \tilde{G}(\mathbf{K},\omega)=1 $$ where $K^2=\mathbf{K}\cdot \mathbf{K}$, $k=\omega/c$.

Then it does the antitransformation, getting

$$ g(\mathbf{R},\tau)= \frac{1}{(2\pi)^4} \int_{-\infty}^{+\infty} d\omega \int d\mathbf{K} \frac{i(\mathbf{K}\cdot\mathbf{R}- \omega \tau)} {-K^2+k^2} $$

Now, the text notes that, contrary to appearances, the latter expression does not unambiguously describe the green function, since we have not used the initial conditions anywhere. This is due to the improper nature of the integral for the presence of the poles $k=\omega/c=\pm K$. To give meaning to the integral it is necessary to deform the integration path to avoid the poles. Then, without demonstrating how to get there, it verifies that, choosing as integration path not the real axis but a straight line parallel to it with positive imaginary part, the integral, solved by exploiting the residual theorem and the jordan lemmas, is a causal green function, that is with null initial conditions.

Could you explain why we can deform contour integration and why it corresponds to change initial conditions? I probably have complex analysis gaps that prevent me from understanding. What is the theory necessary to understand and from where to study it? Thank you

JBach
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  • Apologies to the OP. I erred in my earlier answer, which I have deleted. A decent but terse response appears as an answer to this question. – Joe Mack Jul 18 '20 at 16:25
  • If we integrate in $\omega$ first, then the integrand, $c^2e^{i\omega t}/(\omega ^2 - c^2K^2)$, is meromorphic, with simple poles at $\omega_{\pm} = \pm cK$. Integrating that around a closed curve containing no poles of the integrand, yields 0. See Cauchy's integral theorem. But beware the poles on the real line in this case. – Joe Mack Jul 18 '20 at 16:35
  • Thanks for answer! The difference is that, in my case, the text doesn't circumvent the poles with the little semicircles (letting then the radius tend to 0) but moves the integration pattern up or down, adding an imaginary costant (a pattern parallel to real axis and above or under it). Is it the same? – JBach Jul 19 '20 at 21:21
  • Indenting the contour describes advanced or retarded waves which comes from the problem boundary conditions. It's equivalent to choose a convenient position of the poles. See Jackson book for example. – Felix Marin Jul 19 '20 at 23:00

1 Answers1

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We must view $\omega$ as a complex variable and the integrand as a meromorphic function of a complex variable, with simple poles at $\omega_{\pm} = \pm cK$. \begin{equation} \int_{-\infty}^{\infty}\frac{c^2e^{it\omega}}{(\omega - cK)(\omega + cK)}d\omega \end{equation}


There are two distinct parts to the integral along $\mathbb{R}$:

  • the principal value ($\mathsf{PV}$) of the integral is what we get when we integrate along the real line, except for the radius-$\epsilon$ semicircles, and then let $\epsilon$ shrink to 0;
  • the numbers we pick up from integrating along the radius-$\epsilon$ semicircles and letting $\epsilon$ shrink to 0.

\begin{equation} \begin{split} &~\oint_{\gamma}\frac{c^2e^{itz}}{(z - cK)(z + cK)}dz\\ =&~ \textsf{PV}\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}\frac{c^2e^{it\omega}}{(\omega - cK)(\omega + cK)}d\omega \pm i\pi\frac{e^{itcK}}{2cK} \pm i\pi\frac{e^{-itcK}}{-2cK} + 0, \end{split} \end{equation} where $\gamma$ is the limit curve of curves that that lie along the real line from $-R$ to $R$ but make small semicircles above or below the singularities, and then go along a large arc from $R$ back to $-R$. Jordan's Lemma ensures that the limit of the integral along the large arc is 0. The sign of $t$ determines whether one chooses an arc in the upper half-plane or the lower half-plane.

Each sign attached to a latter term depends on whether the semicircle went into the upper half-plane (clockwise around singularity) or into the lower half-plane (counter-clockwise around the singularity).


Moving the line away from the real line gives another expression for the integral and works because integrating around a box containing both $\mathbb{R}$ (deformed to avoid singularities) and $\mathbb{R}\pm i\epsilon$ (in the opposite direction) is 0.

Let $\Gamma$ be a box with two indentations that goes

  • from $-R$ to $R$ along the real line,
  • but avoids the singularities via semicircles,
  • goes from $R$ to $R \pm i\epsilon$,
  • goes from $R \pm i\epsilon$ to $-R + \pm i\epsilon$,
  • and then from $-R \pm i\epsilon$ to $-R$.

The integrand has no singularities inside this box, so integrating around it yields 0 by Cauchy's Integral Theorem. As $R\to\infty$, the integrals along vertical edges drop to 0, so the $\mathsf{PV}$ of the integral along the real line (from $-\infty$ to $\infty$) plus the integral along $\mathbb{R} + i\epsilon$ (from $\infty + i\epsilon$ to $-\infty + i\epsilon$) is 0.

This means that the integral along $\mathbb{R} \pm i\epsilon$ is equal to the $\mathsf{PV}$ plus the terms picked up from the semicircles over or under the singularities at $\omega_{\pm} = \pm cK$:

\begin{equation} \begin{split} &~\int_{-\infty\pm i\epsilon}^{\infty \pm i\epsilon}\frac{c^2 e^{itz}}{(z - cK)(z+cK)}dz\\ =&~\textsf{PV}\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}\frac{c^2e^{it\omega}}{(\omega - cK)(\omega + cK)}d\omega \pm i\pi\frac{e^{itcK}}{2cK} \pm i\pi\frac{e^{-itcK}}{-2cK} \end{split} \end{equation} This might also be written as \begin{equation} \begin{split} &~\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}\frac{c^2 e^{it(\omega \pm i\epsilon)}}{(\omega \pm i\epsilon - cK)(\omega \pm i\epsilon + cK)}d\omega\\ =&~\textsf{PV}\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}\frac{c^2e^{it\omega}}{(\omega - cK)(\omega + cK)}d\omega \pm i\pi\frac{e^{itcK}}{2cK} \pm i\pi\frac{e^{-itcK}}{-2cK} \end{split} \end{equation}

From what I see in a textbook, some authors note that as $\epsilon\to 0$, $f(\omega \pm i\epsilon)\to f(\omega)$ for $f$ continuous at $\omega$. Then they cheat by dropping the $\pm i\epsilon$ in the numerator. In our case, we get the incorrect expression \begin{equation} \int_{-\infty}^{\infty}\frac{c^2 e^{it\omega}}{(\omega \pm i\epsilon - cK)(\omega \pm i\epsilon + cK)}d\omega \end{equation} because $\pm i\epsilon$ has been removed from the argument of the exponential. This notation gives the reader a warning that there are singularities encountered along $\mathbb{R}$, but the OP's experience shows that it must be used with care or not at all.


For more examples with diagrams, see Principal Value of an Integral in Mathematical Physics by Sadri Hassani.

Joe Mack
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  • Thanks a lot! I've understood that. In my question there is another subquestion. I'd appreciate it if you'd respond to this one, too. Why do the 2 possible patterns (above or under the real line) correspond to different initial conditions? – JBach Jul 20 '20 at 16:42
  • @JBach: I think I have found notes that can explain it more completely than I can. See Section 5.5, Analytic properties of Green functions, in these course notes by Predrag Cvitanović. These notes abuse notation in the way I mentioned in my answer, except that the $\epsilon$ in $\omega \pm i\epsilon$ has been given a physical meaning as a damping parameter (that is allowed to shrink to 0 after the integration is complete). – Joe Mack Jul 20 '20 at 21:24
  • @JBach: Thank you for being persistent in asking for an answer to your specific question. I thought I was done when I explained the arc-choice to ensure decay to 0 of the big-arc integral. Only afterward did I look at the physical meaning of contour-choice and the notion of causal Green's functions. – Joe Mack Jul 20 '20 at 21:31
  • Thank you for the further explaining. Sorry for late replying but only today I read the answer. – JBach Aug 03 '20 at 16:24